Intel lifts full-year outlook as revenue rises 2%

Intel said that revenue came in at $16.1 billion, a 2 per cent increase over the same period a year earlier. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

US chipmaker Intel lifted its full-year outlook again on Thursday after it unveiled third-quarter earnings that easily beat analysts’ expectations.

For the three months ending in September, Intel said that revenue came in at $16.1 billion, a 2 per cent increase over the same period a year earlier and ahead of the $15.7billion that analysts surveyed by Factset had expected.

Net income of $4.5 billion, or 94 cents a share, also exceeded Wall Street’s forecast for income of $3.8 billion, or 73 cents a share. Adjusted for special items, earnings per share came in at $1.01, a 26 per cent boost over the year-ago period.

On the back of the earnings beat, Intel raised its 2017 outlook for the third quarter running. It lifted its revenue forecast by $700 million to $62 billion, while full-year earnings per share guidance was boosted by 27 cents to $2.93; and adjusted earnings per share are now expected to be 25 cents higher at $3.25.

Microsoft hit a new all-time high in after-hours trading on Thursday, as its shares bounced above $80 after shooting through Wall Street’s earnings estimates.

It shrugged off sluggish PC sales to post revenue growth of 12 per cent to $24.5 billion, about $1 billion more than had been predicted.

Net income went up 16 per cent to $7.7 billion, with earnings growing at the same rate to 85 cents, well ahead of analysts’ predictions.

Shares in Alphabet, Google’s parent company, soared over $1,000 in after hours trading in New York, after it beat expectations on earnings by more than a $1 a share.

Diluted earnings per share for the third quarter was $9.57, significantly higher than the average analyst estimate for $8.33. Net income was $6.7 billion.

Sales rose 24 per cent year-on-year to $27.8 billion, above the consensus forecast for $27.2 billion. Paid clicks were up 47 per cent year-on-year in total, while cost per click continued to fall, down 21 per cent, as mobile dilutes desktop search.

Amazon reported better-than-expected earnings and an optimistic holiday sales outlook, sending shares up more than 6 per cent in after-hours trading on Thursday.

Profits grew to $256 million, or 52 cents a share, in the three months to the end of September, from $252 million a year ago – well above the 3 cents analysts were looking for.